Which Role to Take?
by mind of a madman
Summary: AU. Living his life around those that shun him, a young Naruto realizes that having the strength to protect yourself in this world where even the people that you live with could one-day put a knife in your back was important. Will Naruto allow this view on life to take him down a darker path or will he let the bonds he forges along his journey keep him in the light?


_**(October 10th day of the Kyuubi attack)**_

The seal was ready to be laid after a quick set of hand seals were completed, the reaper appearing behind its caster bringing an ominous chill into the already horrid situation, but none felt this daunting sensation more than the caster himself Namikaze Minato. A rattling noise resounded in the air as the demon fox struggled against chains made of pure chakra that was being produced by its previous jailer, Uzumaki Kushina, as she kept the beast at bay with what little chakra she had left.

"First to use myself as the medium to begin the sealing process." The current Hokage said, as what air he had left in lungs felt as if it was forcefully ripped out as the reaper reached through him in order to complete its task in forcefully connected Minato to the giant mass of chakra. The process was fast but extremely painful for Minato as through the sudden link between him and the biju a sudden surge of chakra being forced into him made him feel as if chakra coils were going to rip themselves apart; his body was getting numb and his breath ragged.

He was using an altered version of the **Shiki Fūjin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal)** , one of his own design were it allowed its caster to seal a being of immense power into another so long as the person performing the jutsu had another seal of equal or greater strength to incorporate into the process. By doing this, Minato could theoretically seal the whole of the Kyuubi into his son without resorting to splitting away half its chakra to feed to the reaper, but doing this came at a price. That price being that in exchange for allowing the soul that the reaper helped capture be sealed elsewhere, that the caster's own soul would be cut in twine and forced to fight itself, the yin and the yang halves of their very being forced to fight for eternity within the belly of the reaper; always to be at odds with one another and to never be able to feel whole again.

He had created this method in order to rectify the glaring issue of the **Hakke no Fūin Shiki** (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style) that he had run into when studying it. Although Hakke no Fūin Shiki was a strong seal that allowed the person it was applied to to tighten or loosen it at will (so long as they had the seal's key) in order to tap into the power of whatever they have sealed inside them, rather than completely suppress them altogether; as was the case with Kushina's seal, it also ran the risk of failing altogether if the thing you were attempting to seal was too strong or tried to struggle. Using the Hakke no Fūin Shiki alone in an attempt to seal the Kyuubi away wound be akin to trying to put a wild animal away in a cage without restraining it first, you would run the risk of it possibly trying to escape before you even made it close to the enclosure, and applying that analogy to the situation at hand that would mean the complete failure of the technique and the death of the person you tried using it on.

Minato had wanted to do more study on this type of sealing application (with a seal less dangerous than the Shiki Fūjin of course) and was hoping he wouldn't have to use it until it was time to naturally switch the Kyuubi into a new host after Kushina's tenure was up, well past the point where he would be a wizened old man like his predecessor. Now that it dawned on him there was actually a lot more he still wanted to do, he still wanted to help his wayward student escape from the suicidal path he was going through, he still wanted to perfect the rasengan, he wanted to read his sensei's next book, wanted to see his child grow up, of course, he wanted to spend more time with his beautiful wife; perhaps even have another child, a little brother or sister for Naruto that would of course come from another hot and passionate night of love making with Kushina.

He could picture it now, her beautiful red hair sprawled about on their bed, gorgeous violet eyes looking back into his own, and plump, luscious lips that she left defenseless so that they could be attacked by his own. The nape of her soft neck, one of her many weak points, would cause her to coo when he would place a line of kisses down upon it eventually reaching her ample breast, to which he would bring his hands up and give them both a gentle squeeze, with them being big enough for him to cup perfectly into his hands. Of course at that point, he would then allow his hands to wander farther down so that he could do the same with her perfect ass, and eventually, they wo-

" _No Minato, now is not the time to be of thinking such things"_ berating his own thoughts as he blamed the new issue of Icha Icha he read the night prior for his current imaginings _"*sigh*but if not now then when? After tonight I'll be dead, so I guess I can permit myself such indulges even despite the current situation"_

Rule 1 of Konohagakure no Sato: all men within the village is a pervert at heart.

No exceptions.

"*cough*" blood was now starting to trickle down his mouth telling him he should complete this faster.

"Minato…" Kushina managed to wheeze out in worry for her husband, but the truth of the matter was she was in no better condition. She was using what little chakra she had left to both contain and restrain the Kyuubi, but even now the chains holding it were loosening as she herself grew weaker. If not for her Uzumaki blood she knew she would be dead after the beast was extracted from her, but the bitter taste of copper in her mouth reminded her that she too was not long for this world. She mentally berated herself as she had apparently spaced out; not even noticing Minato had scooped up their child and made the necessary preparations to seal the tailed beast into him until she heard the familiar sound of something popping into existence via summoning. Looking up she saw Minato place their baby within a sealing ritual altar and as soon as that happened she felt the beast she was holding tense through her chains and was preparing to tighten her hold when all of a sudden she felt pain rack throughout her body.

"*cough* *cough* *hack*" she began to cough up more blood as the hold she had on the Kyuubi was finally released.

"Kushina, are you okay!?" Minato yelled as he rushed to his wife concern written all over his face.

Then they heard a roar and both of them widened their eyes in horrifying realization as the Kyuubi began lunging its claw downward towards their child. Minato who was still standing dashed back first in an attempt to protect his son, with Kushina scrambling to her feet on shaky legs and following suit. For Kushina everything seemed to go in slow motion, she could see Minato just slightly ahead of her in their desperate sprint and she knew neither one of them had any farther plan beyond protecting their son. As the claw came down Minato and Kushina both got in between it and their child, and Kushina closed her eyes and braced herself for what was to come.

*spshhh* blood filled the air as the claw made contact with a target it did not intend to hit. Kushina for her part thought she would be in more pain but just figured that her body was already in so much of it that the new sensation had not registered. But then she realized something was off, she was no longer stand on her two feet, rather she was on her side on the hard ground.

"*cough*" she heard a weak cough hit the air and slowly opened her eyes, pure horror filling them as she did. She herself was on the ground while in front of her was two Minatos impaled on one of the Kyuubi's long nails; their son being spared that same fate.

"Looks like I made it….just in time. *poof*" The second Minato who was revealed to be a clone said before disappearing.

"Minato…what did you…" Kushina choked out, tears threatening to escape as she bore witness to a scene far worse than any nightmare she could image.

"I made two shadow clones before we got here….one was sent to retrieve Tsunade-sama and Shizune-chan and the other I kept in hiding just in case something went wrong" hand seals were being formed as he spoke of what he did "my clone managed to get them here, they should be outside the barrier now waiting for this to be done"

"Why…" she said in barely a whisper before raising her voice at him, tears streaming down her face "Why Minato!? *cough* I-I'm already one foot in the grave, I won't last much longer, so why would you?" she wasn't angry at him, not entirely, she understood this man in front of her better than anyone, how much he loved and cared for the things he held dear; selflessly putting his life on the line for what he held precious to him. However she couldn't help the feeling forming in the pit of her stomach, she felt betrayed, if she was going to die away she wanted to spend what life she had left protecting her child like any parent should, but that wish was just denied.

"I did it…because Naruto…deserves to have one of us in his life and considering everything that just happened we both know I'm not a choice *cough* besides I think it was for the best." As he says this the reaper at his back grew an even more wicked smile on its face.

"You idiot, *sob* the chances of me surviving are slim to none and yet…." She said as looked down at the ground, allowing her tears to wet the ground below.

"Those odds…"

"Huh?" she looked back up at him.

"I would bet on the slim chance….every time a thousand times over….because you're the strongest and most stubborn person I know…you'll make it, that I have faith of." He said to her as he gave her one of his charmingly goofy smiles, the same smile she had come to love.

"Minato you..." she was going to argue. She wanted to argue. She needed to say something, anything, to make it clear to him that she was far from happy about any of this, but she couldn't. hearing him say those words put a hope in her that she thought was lost the moment the Kyuubi was extracted from her and that hope swelled to a naively huge degree, almost completely eroding her common sense when it came to the situation. She realized it then and there at that moment, she wanted to live. She wanted to hold her child more, to see him smile, to see grow, to see him through the good times and the bad. She wanted to believe more than anything in this world that that was still possible and this man in front of her, the one she has come to love the most in this world was saying that it was. How could she say anything against it with so much faith being put in her?

"So just this once…let me be a little selfish." Minato said as a blinding white light began to shine around them.

"O-Okay" she said giving him a smile, knowing that in his final moments he wouldn't want her looking so sad.

"Naruto, Kushina, I love you both so very much" and with that said the reaper licked it blade before claiming its caster's soul; the Kyuubi disappearing in the brilliant light and the hakke no fuin shiki now marking baby Naruto's unmarred skin.

Minato's now lifeless body fell backward shortly afterward, but kushina couldn't help but notice the look of pure contentment present on his face. With no reason to hold up the barrier anymore, she allowed her chakra chains to dissolve and the barrier to go along with them. Kushina gave one last glance to her husband as she bit her bottom lip in an attempt to quell her ever-growing sorrow. After taking a deep breath she turned her attention over to her son who had oddly slept through the entire ordeal. With only a few feet between them and the fact that her body was very weak at the moment, Kushina opted to crawl to her child, however before she could reach him the sound of rushed footsteps hit her ears and she turned to see people making their way toward them. Among the group that was gathering towards her and Naruto she could see several Anbu; one of whom had gravity-defying grey hair, the previous Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, one of the few people powerful enough to hold the title of "god of shinobi" and who was like a grandfather to her, and two others that made the tension in her body almost completely disappear.

"Tsunade-nee, Shizune-chan…" she said as she finally let her body lay limp on the ground, the only things she could hear as she lost consciousness was Tsunade frantically giving orders to people and her child stir from his slumber and begin to cry.

 _ **(Within a spiritual plane of existence)**_

The Rikudo Sennin (sage of six paths), Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, was currently looking at his sons. Well 'his sons' was a bit of a stretch for the children he looked after were simply the two whom of which his own children's chakra was reborn into; their reincarnates. The older one in which his eldest son, Indra, had reincarnated into was currently in the hands of his elder brother. They along with a girl with long brown hair that looked to be the elder brother's age had weathered the attack that had occurred moments prior and was now making way to a more secure location while aiding others along the way. The younger one who was born today, however.

*crying*

The wails of the newborn resounded throughout this empty space, Hagoromo himself holding the child with a look of sadness in his eyes. The child had died, no, that wasn't right; it was more accurate to say he was in a state of near death and that the odds of him pulling through this and recovering were slim and lowering even now. Oddly this boy, who his younger son Asura had reincarnated into, was born with a frail body, an odd trait rarely seen in those with Uzumaki blood, but one that could sometimes happen. Normally this weakened body would rectify itself given a little bit of time, in fact, had the child been given just a few weeks to a month of proper care his body would be as strong or stronger than any other infant born around the same time as him. The problem was that he wasn't given that proper time. Immediately after he was brought into this world Kurama, whom he also felt sadness for at that moment, was sealed into the poor child's body and the sudden surge in the boy's chakra system had exasperated his already poor condition to the point that his body was now failing.

"What to do?" He asked himself as he stared at the crying child, it sort of amused him that despite the state of the boy's physical his spirit could be so lively given the circumstances. "I can't allow him to die, he is the only one that will be able to quell Indra's rage or if it comes to it kill him if necessary, and then there is that other problem…..hmmm"

He gave it a little more thought before a bright smile graced his aged face.

"Out of the two of you boys you did always struggle with things the most huh, Asura? It was only ever through others that you found your strength and although the ones that came after you all went through many different things and took different paths one thing was always clear; I could always trust you to follow your heart towards the right thing and bring hope to those around you."

As he said these words he began to channel his chakra into the child in hopes of repairing the state of decay his physical body was going through.

"I don't know what effects this will have on you or what it might do to your body, but the world is better with you in it then it is without you, so allow me to be the first one to help you along your path…."

As the chakra finished flowing into the infant he calmed down allowing his yells to die out. With a soft giggle and a peaceful smile, the boy was resting softly in Hagoromo's hands before he slowing started to fade from that plain of existence altogether.

"….Naruto"

" _ **Within Naruto's mindscape"**_

The beast was cursing them, the Uchiha that took control of him and Namikaze Minato; the latter more so than the former. The late Hokage not only ruined his chance at freedom, but he also sealed him inside of a brat; one of which was dying. Karama, of course, attempted to heal the child's body, if only to save his own life, but his efforts only seemed to worsen his condition and kill him faster.

" **Getting darker….and it so cold…..this has been…..a really shitty day."** Kurama said as he felt is life fade along with the child'.

This was it, he was going to die after everything that happened in just one night. Well 'die' was sort of a strong term, disappear for a brief period of time was a more logically way of looking at it, but for a biju, it was the same thing and even though they knew they would return after it was done it didn't mean they enjoyed it happening. Karuma was about to close his eyes and allow the darkness to take him, but before it could he felt a warm flow through his chamber and as it spread so too did the room grow brighter.

" **This feeling…"** to him it was a sensation that he thought he would never feel again, the feeling of the person that created him. **"Father?"**

After that he began to hear the cries of the child he was inside reverberating within his chambered as he grinned, now he had a new problem; the damn crying. Kurama spent the next few hours contemplating on what he would rather bare through his death or the damn brat's insufferable hollering.

" _ **Special Medical Facility-An Hour after the Attack"**_

This day was a rollercoaster of emotions for her, as both of her sons had got caught in the mess that was the Kyuubi's attack on their village and she was forced to fear for their safety. Her overflowing worry was dampened however when both of her beautiful children came back to her safe and sound, but that peace did not last as an Anbu came to inform her of what had happened to her dear friend. After the situation was explained to her she wasted no time in forcing said Anbu into telling her where she was and swiftly making way to that location. Now one Uchiha Mikoto was blazing a direct path to Kushina's operation room, worry again beginning to swell in her chest as she feared the worst for the women she considered to be her sister in everything but blood. As she made it to the door she was greeted by a young girl in her teens with short black hair that she recognized to be the one and only apprentice to the slug Sannin. Mikoto didn't know much about the girl, but from the tension she held on her face and the number of emotions that were held in her onyx eyes, she knew the young girl must have been distraught. When she noticed the lone Uchiha she gave her a shaky nod and addressed her.

"You wouldn't happen to be here for Kushina-san would you?" she asked the older women.

"Yes I am, how is she?" Mikoto asked her.

Shizune seemed a little reluctant to answer that question at first but then she a small sigh and motioned with her hand "follow me"

Mikoto followed the girl through the door as she opened it and rather than finding their selves directly in the operating room they were in what could only be described as an observation room, where one wall was a giant window that allowed the people inside to look into the real operating room where the surgery was taking place. Mikoto's eyes widened in horror and tears started to well up in them as she saw into the room, there in the center of the room was Kushina laying on a bed and from how frantically her chest moved up and down she could tell she was breathing heavily. Hovering over her were three med-nin, one of which was the legendary Tsunade herself, all of whom had their hands coated in healing chakra and were focusing on healing her body. Around them was some kind of sealing array that had a person sitting and focusing their chakra into it at each of its points; eight in total and in the back sat one last doctor who was staring at some kind of device which kept the women's vitals. At the other side of the room another group of med-nin looked at the process as it was happening, Mikoto could only assume that those doctors were on rotation and just waiting to replace the doctors that were channeling chakra into the seal.

Noticing the older women was at a loss for words Shizune decide to answer her unasked question. "A very severe case of chakra exhaustion and multiple internal organ failures."

"W-what? How did this happen to her? Was it the Kyuubi?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to say as it is an S-ranked secret"

Mikoto wanted to pry more but then they both noticed that the people in the room grew frantic, people began to shout out orders they couldn't hear through the glass, bodies moved to and fro to move equipment, it was pure chaos. Mikoto, whose concerns reached their peak, activated her Sharingan and began to read the lips of everyone in the room and as she kept going her face grew paler and paler with each sentence she made out. Tears finally fell as they lost Kushina's vitals and they started trying to do everything they could to resuscitate her. Mikoto couldn't bear to watch anymore, she didn't want to see her best friend die in front of her so she hung her head as she suddenly found the tiled floor to be vastly more interesting. Shizune witnessed as the situation in the room went from bad to worse, and with very little hesitation she ran through the door that leads into the operating room to lend what little help she could. Just before the door could fully close Mikoto could hear one of the doctors say 'she is gone' and at those words, she felt bile build up in her mouth and her legs sudden go weak. Without giving the scene another glance she left out of the room through the door that leads back to the hallway and sat down on one of the chairs as she let herself fall into a daze; but had she gave one more look into the room she would have noticed there was still one doctor not willing to give up just yet and had she been more self-aware at that moment she would have perhaps noticed the metamorphosis that happened in her eyes.

" _ **Sarutobi Hiruzen some hours later"**_

Hiruzen was a lot of things at the moment, but he could say that scant few of what he was feeling could be described as positive in any capacity. The recently reinstated Hokage was currently making his way to Kushina's room, baby Naruto 'last name pending' in hand. He had a long council meeting, one that was full of headaches and disappointment. Among the topics that got brought up, Naruto's status as a jinchūriki was one and to say it was received poorly would the worst understatement made in recent history. It disgusted him how so many of them (mostly the civilian council members) could be so heartless to a child that was born no more than a few hours ago, going as far as to request that the child be either banished from the village or executed. A part of Hiruzen could understand their feelings, besides the fact that no one ever knew of the fact that Konoha had a jinchūriki prior to this day, many people's loved ones were lost and they were willing to find anything or anyone to blame. However, he knew this course of action was a mistake when several ninja in the room attempted to take the boy's life then and there. With no choice Hiruzen ordered that Naruto's status be made an S-ranked secret with the punishment being death if broken, however, he had no doubt that by the end of the night all of the older men and women of the village would be in the know.

With a heavy sigh, the elderly man glanced down at the boy in his hands and smiled. "At least not everything that came out of this night was bad."

Reaching where he knew Kushina would be held Hiruzen notice someone sitting in one of the chairs in the hall outside her room, He quickly recognized her to be Uchiha Mikoto, Kushina's closest friend within the village. As the old kage approached her he saw something concerning, the women setting there seemed lost, not lost in mere thought or daydream, just lost; as if something irreplaceable was stripped from her. Hiruzen walked up to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder in an attempt to shake her from her reverie when he noticed her eyes. No longer were the familiar onyx eyes that were common among all in her clan nor where there their the famous red irises and three tomoe of her clans prized doujutsu, no in their place was the intricate design that looked eerily similar to a pinwheel.

" _The Mangekyo Sharingan!?"_ Hiruzen thought, knowing what it means when an Uchiha obtains those eyes. _"Then Kushina is…"_ Hiruzen took a glance at the door it which Kushina's operation was currently taking place and noticed that the light above the door was still on, signifying that the doctors were still working on her.

With a tired groan Hiruzen sat next to the distraught women, a part of him was relieved that hope was not completely lost for the young Uzumaki and a part of him warry that Mikoto's newly acquired eyes may just be an omen to signify her death. At that moment baby Naruto stirred from his peaceful slumber, silent sobs starting to coming from him progressively getting louder with every successive one. Before he knew it Hiruzen was now holding a crying child rather than a sleeping one and was swiftly trying to lull him back into a comfortable sleep. The crying child sitting right next to her seemed to be enough to rouse Mikoto out of her stupor as she turned her head and looked _at_ the people sitting next to her for the first time since they arrived.

"….Oh lord Hokage, sorry I didn't notice you" she finally said in a very wary voice, before looking at the baby in his hands "And who might this little guy be?" she asked bringing her hand up and poking him in one of his chubby cheeks.

"His name is Naruto, he is Kushina and Minato's child" he answered her.

She smiled at that _"He sort of does have Kushina's face, but he's defiantly his father's son through and through"_ then it dawned on her "Wait, Kushina didn't mention anything about her baby being due to this soon."

" _Right she missed the meeting"_ Hiruzen sighed "That's because it was intentionally kept a secret in order to protect her during the birthing process in case of an assassination attempt."

"I see…" she scrunched up her nose in frustration "And then the fox came and…" tears began to well up in her eyes once more.

Hiruzen saw the young women's distress and decided if anyone deserved to know the truth it should be her. "Mikoto…" and that's when he began to tell her everything she should know, Minato's death, the fact that Kunisha was the Kyuubi's previous Jinchūriki, That Konoha has always had a Jinchūriki since the time of the first Hokage, that the baby he held was now their villages current Jinchūriki, and that it is suspected that this attack had something to do with someone of Uchiha ancestry. Mikoto for her part listened to the explanation with weighted emotions, she knew how people saw Jinchūriki and how they were treated and it saddened her a great deal that her closest friend, whom she considered a younger sister, was one but could never tell her. She didn't feel betrayed by this or think any worse of Kushina for not informing her, but she did feel sad because she thought she knew everything she could about her and could understand any problems she came to her with.

" _But I couldn't, could I? I told you I could help you through anything, but there's no way I could understand what it must feel like to hold a burden as great as that."_

As for the news of an Uchiha being the orchestrator of this assault on the village, she couldn't possibly think of anyone strong enough to be able to do this. Loathe as she may be to admit this, the way the system is now it was designed to keep the Uchiha as weak as possible in an event they would become a growing issue for the village. It's been that way since the time of the village's conception, an idea posed by Senju Tobirama, and only got worse after the event that happened between the villages' first and second Hokages. However, despite everything the people truly holding the Uchiha back was the village elders, more specifically Shimura Danzo. In truth, despite the infamy of their clan that has spread all over the elemental nations, very few Uchiha were counted among Konoha's elite. Besides herself and her husband only a hand full of others in the clan were jonin level, most of the members were chunin and even then they were restricted to the police force rather than normal active ninja duties; which also served to dull their skills farther by ensuring they almost never saw any true battles. From what Hiruzen told her, this attacker would not only have had to bypass or kill an elite force of Anbu hand-picked by the Minato and Hiruzen themselves to guard the location Kushina was to give birth at; to which they did the latter, they would also have to somehow take on Minato himself, something she knew even Fugaku couldn't do.

" _Candidate to be Hokage perhaps, but there were more reasons than just foul play on Danzo's part for the reason Minato was chosen rather than him, Fugaku would admit that himself."_ she thought to herself.

Taking another glance at the child Mikoto asked "May I?" understanding her unfinished question Hiruzen gingerly handed the baby who was still crying in his hands to her. "Sssh Ssssh It's ok little one, every thing's alright." She said as she cradled the child in her hand and smiled.

" _You want me to what?"_

* * *

 **Flashback**

" _You heard me, I want you to be the godmother of my child, Dattebane"_ she heard her friend say, knowing the idea had her excited by means of her verbal tic kicking in.

" _I would be honored to, but I must ask what brought this on so suddenly?"_ she asked as a bright smile spread across her face.

" _Well, Minato just recently named Jiraiya the godfather, and while I trust him with a lot of things, being a responsible role model is not one of them"_

" _What about Tsunade-sama? She's like your older sister right? I honestly thought if you were going to pick anyone for the job it'd be her"_

A look of sadness came to the young women's face _"Tsunade-nee is still struggling with some things, and although we are close I wouldn't want to burden her with this while she trying to sort her problems out."_ She then felt her hand get taken hold of. _"Besides you're my sister too and someone I can count on just as much"_

Noticing the worry her friend held she asked _"What's wrong Kushina? I can tell something is bothering you."_

" _*sigh* I guess I just worried something could go wrong y'know, I mean this the first time I've done this."_

" _I sure everything will be fine, besides you still have some time before your due right?"_

Kushina pat her stomach lightly. _"Still…you never know, anything could go wrong."_ She said looking down as if in deep contemplation. _"If it does promise, you'll look after this one for me."_

She didn't like the sound of what her friend was saying but nonetheless, she agreed _"I promise."_

Once those words were said she was enveloped in a deep hug.

" _Thank you, Mikoto!"_

* * *

*SLIDE*

The sound of the door to the operating room opening broke Mikoto from her thoughts as a thoroughly exhausted looking Tsunade walked out. Hiruzen was the first to voice the question they both wanted to know.

"How is she?"

Tsunade for her part took a long deep breath before answering. "She'll live, however…."

 **5 years later**

The Kyuubi Festival, a day of both celebration and Mourning. While it was named after the demon fox, it was neither meant to honor or revere it, rather it was a day spent to pay homage to its defeat and to respect those that lost their lives fighting it. Night had long settled over the village by this point and if one were to look over it from above they would see the light of lanterns dotting almost every part of the village. On this day children got to play the festival games that were available and enjoy the food stalls with their friends and families. The adults, after waiting for it to get a little later in the night, would indulge in drink and sometimes be gambling, some into the early morning of the next day. It was an enjoyable event for everyone, everyone except a certain boy who just so happened share his birthday with the festival.

*Sob*

On the Hokage monument looking over Konoha, sitting on top of one of the four large stone faces, and trying to make himself appear as small as possible by tucking his knees into his chest as a stream of tears flowed from his puffy eyes, as his sapphire irises seemed to gleam in the moonlight, was Uzumaki Naruto. The blond orphan boy was, for reasons unknown to him, was despised by most within his own village, something he had come to completely understand in the later part of his fourth year of life. At best the people of his village ignored and shunned him as he walked by, something that both saddened and annoyed him to no end. At worst they would attempt to beat him, whether it be with what they could find or with their bare hands, but more times than not the Anbu, or 'those people who wear animal mask' as he calls them, would whisk such people away and must times Naruto would never see them again. However, tonight changed his perspective on himself and the village.

It all started when his current caretaker, a middle-aged vindictive woman named Aoi, who loathed the fact that she had to take care of the 'demon child' forced the young boy out of the orphanage and into the unforgiving jaws of the beast known to him as Konoha. For the boy, the difference between this day and any other was as antithetically different as night and day, which was funny considering he didn't think his situation when it came to the village could get much worse. Oh, how wrong he was, as everyone stared at him like he was some walking plague, curses and shouts being thrown his way before physical objects followed suit. Then he was thrown to the ground, kicks being thrown at him as he tried his best to protect his self. Once the vast majority of them were satisfied with what was done, he was left crying on the ground, with cuts and bruises littering his body, but that wasn't the worst of his night.

" _Today is the day we end all of this"_ he remembered a man say as a shout of cheers followed after.

Naruto was then dragged away from the festival by a group of four men. He was taken to a forest just far enough away from the rest of the civilians so that what happened next wasn't on public display. Looking up the scared child saw something no kid his age should see. He saw the hungered looks of those that wished to for his death, as they surrounded him like a pack of wolves that surrounded their prey.

' _Someone, Mikoto-chan, Itachi-nii, Mask people, anyone, help me!'_ he thought as he saw one man lunged at him with a kunai.

 _*STAB* *SPLOOSH*_

"I'm _*hiccup*_ a monster" he choked out as he looked back at what happened.

The boy was covered in blood, none of which was his own, his already shabby looking attire was littered with puncture holes from the ability that manifested itself and saved his life. Even now the child felt what he could only assume was his own bones knitted their selves back into their proper places and parts of his body that were once sore from the beating he received from the villages earlier on disappear. Raising one of his tiny hands palm-side up, he watched as a small hole formed in his skin as a sharp white spike made of bone started protruding from it. Lower his hand in disgust, he allowed his head to drop as he thought back to the blood-soaked corpses he left in that forest.

" _Why am crying?" he thought "they tried to kill me first, so why should I care?"_

He pondered on it some more.

" _They're gone now, they can never hurt me again, so why am I crying?"_

Lifting his head up he took a glance at this hate-filled place he knew as Konoha.

" _Why am I even here?"_ he asked himself _"Here in this place where people try to hurt and ignore me."_

He stood up wiping away his tears with the cleanest part of his shirt and continued to stare at his village with almost empty eyes.

"Thank goodness I found you" he heard someone say as he heard footsteps approach him.

Turning around the boy saw someone who put a genuine smile on his face. "Itachi-nii!" he yelled as he saw the 10 year old raven haired boy who had a look of both relieve and worry on his face. Naruto for his part was about to run up to his big brother figure and give him a hug until he remembered he was still covered in blood, which caused him to hesitate.

Noticing the boy reluctance Itachi took it upon his self to approach the boy he thought as a second little brother and wrap his arms around him, engulfing him in a hug filled with care.

"Oka-san and I were worried when we couldn't find you at the orphanage to pick you up for your birthday party, then we heard what happened and started looking for you." He told the younger boy.

"Where is Mikoto-chan now?" Naruto asked.

"She and oto-san are with the Hokage now getting this sorted out." Itachi pulled away from him slightly and asked: "What happened to you Naru-chan?"

Naruto then explained everything to him, how he was forced out of the orphanage, what he experienced in the village, how the men tried to kill him, and how they ended up losing their lives instead. Once he told Itachi everything he could recall, he slipped his way away from his brother figures grip and looked back over the village.

"Itachi-nii?" he started.

"Yes, Naru-chan?"

"Jiji told me before that everyone in the village was like a family, looking out for each other and caring for one another." He said in a tone that held almost no positive or negative emotion in it. "But to me, it's more like a big puzzle, a puzzle where everyone has a place they fit in except me."

At that Itachi couldn't help the pitying look he gave the child as he stared at his back.

"Say Itachi-nii…"

A powerful breeze blew between them, gathering up leaves as the starlit sky shone above the two, giving the scene that was stood before Itachi an almost majestic feel as Naruto turned around with the moon at his back as he spoke his next words.

"What is a village?"

For the briefest of moments Itachi's eyes widened as he heard the question being posed to him, a question that not too long ago he had himself, a question that even now he believed he was searching an answer for.

Breaking away from his momentary shock he answered. "I don't know."

Naruto for his part seemed to take that answer as is and without so much as a fuss he nodded and look back at the village.

Itachi walked over to stand next to his younger brother in everything but blood and put a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto-" He started as he was going to suggest they leave and let everyone know that he was okay but the blond boy interrupted him with a simple question.

"Itachi will you train me?"

* * *

 **AN: This is my first try at a Naruto fanfic and as I wrote in my summary I mainly wrote it because I had just a ton of ideas in my head that kept swirling and compelled me to go for it. Now I'm not the best at writing, in fact, part of the reason I do this is to improve my skills, but if you could give me your opinion on what I have so far I'd really appreciate it. Well, till next time seeya.**


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